Ancestors

Historical contextThe region's name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, located between the rivers Scheldt and Dijle, from braec "marshy" and bant "region". Upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun it was part of Lotharingia within short-lived Middle Francia, and was ceded to East Francia according to the 880 Treaty of Ribemont.On 4 August 1430 Filips van Sint-Pol dies, duke of Brabant, without being married. Brabant comes under the reign of Duke Philip the Good. In 1430 the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia and Limburg were also inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy and became part of the Burgundian Netherlands. In 1477 the Duchy of Brabant became part of the House of Habsburg as part of the dowry of Mary of Burgundy. At that time the Duchy extended from Luttre, south of Nivelles to 's Hertogenbosch, with Leuven as the capital city.

1436
In 1436 there is a war between Holland and the Baltic countries. That's why stagnates the grain supply. In addition, there are floods in the Betuwe, Holland, and Friesland. There this causes a major famine in 's-Hertogenbosch, causing many people to die.

1439
From 1439 to 1442 there is a plague epidemic which causes a large death in the city.

The family Van der Aa en Nieuw-Herlaar
About the origin of this family can be read in the story Genealogy Van der Aa in the Middle Ages of Nico van Dinther [1]. The name probably comes from the farm at Aa in Boxtel. The Van der Aa family had a lot of possessions in the Meierij and distant surroundings. At the beginning of the 14th century, Nieuw-Herlaar castle was added. Castle Nieuw-Herlaar with associated grounds was a loan from the ‘Hoge Heerlijkheid’ Herlaer. According to a charter from the year 1340 Diederik van Horne, lord of Herlaar, lends the good Nieuw-Herlaar to Willem van der Aa in loan as his father had given it in loan (Dutch: erfleen) to Gerard van der Aa. The estate and castle Nieuw-Herlaar remained until around 1500 in the possession of the family. After a messy period, the castle was in 1532 in the hands of the Proeninck family of Deventer.

Family van der Aa and Coenen with whom daughter Maria married were important families from Brabant. Sint-Michielsgestel is close to 's-Hertogenbosch. The city of the Duke was at that time a powerful fortified town, center of government and trade. The families we meet at the castles and mansions in Sint-Michielsgestel belonged to the elite of 's-Hertogenbosch. They often had a home and function in the big city of 's Hertogenbosch.

The estate Zegenwerp
Zegenwerp was a castle in St. Michielsgestel in Duchy of Brabant. Blessing comes from the early Middle Ages, a "curtis" from the time that the Dommel flowed past the wooden church of Gestel and 's-Hertogenbosch was literally only forest. In 1385, the good blessing with accessories was handed over to the Lord of Herlaer, with Lord Willem van Aa present. The Lord of Herlaer lends Zegenwerp to the Van der Aa family.
De eerste van hen, die blijkens gezegd Leenregister door de Heeren van Oud-Herlaer met dat goed werden beleend, was Gerard van Randerode gezegd van der Aa, ridder, zoon van Gerard en Catharina Monicx of wel Christina van Erp.[2]

1443Jan van der Aa was borrowed with the estate in Zegenwerp, about a castle was not spoken yet. The castle is mentioned in 1473. Probably that Jan van der Aa or his son-in-law Herman Coenen had the castle built. Castle Zegenwerp is, like the new stone church, built in the second half of the 15th century

Eigenaren van Zegenwerp

Below you will find a number of scripts in which Jan van der Aa is mentioned:

December 4, 1443:

Jan Inghels, Henric de Proest, Jan van Attenorde and Jan van Haesdonc, from Jan van Wiler, have informed Jan van der Aa, son of the late Gerard, for the major, Jan van Wiler and the aforesaid, for a mass and a season one half of a meadow, of which Willem van der Aa has the other half, located in the parish Eelwijt and called in the Schouwenbroeck, to Brother Rombout van der Berct, prior of the convent of Our Lady at Hanswyck near Mechelen, for the benefit of the convent of the monastery mentioned above. Stamps: Schepenen van Percke. [3]

December 10, 1444:Schepenen van 's-Hertogenbosch acknowledged that Anna van Schoonhoven, daughter of Jan and wife of Gerard van der Aa, for the benefit of Jan, their son, renounced the usufruct of the good in [5]

Children

Descendants

1463
In 1419 and 1463 there were two large city fires in 's-Hertogenbosch. The second fire starts on June 13th the house De Grote Ketel in the Verwersstraat, after which the fire quickly spreads to the Kolperstraat, Ridderstraat, Behind the Wild Pig, part of the Vughterstraat, Snellestraat, Minderbroederstraat
and part of the Market and the Pensmarkt. 4000 houses and part of the town hall and the monastery of the Minderbroeders go up in flames. The city authorities then prohibit the construction of houses with roofs of reeds or straw. The straw or straw must be replaced within ten years of the remaining houses by slate or tiles. For encouragement, a premium is set: for each rod, 40 stivers and 24 stivers for each rod. In order to pay for this, the excise duties on beer, wine and co increased. There will have been enough work for our namesakes around that time a family of slate.

October 11, 1476:“Henrick van der Aa, knight, Jan and Dirk van der Aa, brothers declare that Walraven van Brouckhuyzenen van Weerdenborgh, lord of Ammerzoden, our brother-in-law as wife of Elsbene Sloizen his wife is our cousin (she is a daughter of their sister Elsbene and Robert de Loze) has made a promise in connection with the marriage conditions etc.’’ [7]

February 1474:
During the time that the Van der Aa family leaves from Nieuw-Herlaar, they also leave Zegenwerp, but the latter in a more orderly manner. Maria van der Aa, a daughter of Jan van der Aa and his wife Maria Pels, married Herman Coenen. In 1474, Jan van Aa and Maria Pels transferred the house Zegenwerp and accompanying estate to her daughter Maria and son-in-law Herman.

Death

Jan, about 58 years old, passed away about 1485, his wife, Mary, died in 1530. They were both not buried in the church of St. Michael's. [8]